Collapsible box



June 26, 1951 J. M. DAVENPORT 2,558,125

COLLAPSIBLE Bo'x Filed Oct. 27, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Joseph M. Davenport v INVENTOR.

June 195] J. M. DAVENPORT COLLAPSIBLE BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 27, 1947 Joseph M. Davenport INVENTOR.

Patented June 26, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLEBOX Joseph M. Davenport, Medford, Oreg.

Application October 27, 1947, Serial No. 782,425

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in foldable or collapsible boxes and more particularly to a collapsible metal box which may be folded into a compact form, when not in use, for convenient transportation or storage purposes.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible box which may be moved into and out of its collapsed position without necessitating the removal of fastening devices of any character.

A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible box including a bottom having hingedly connected sections which hold the side and end walls of the box in an open position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide novel hand grips for the upper edges of a pair of the opposed walls of the box as well as reinforcing means for the hand gripping walls.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is neat and attractive in appearance, strong and durable, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view showing the bottom of the box arranged in folded position.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the box showing the bottom in its open position.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the box in folded position.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one end of the folded box taken on a line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a similar view taken on a line 55 of Figure 3, and

Figure 6 is a perspective view on a reduced scale showing a modified form of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention the numeral 5 designates the collapsible metal box generally which includes side walls 6, end walls 1 and a bottom 2|.

The end walls 1 are constructed of a double thickness of material folded upon itself to provide inner and outer laminations 8 and 9, the outer edge of the outer lamination 9 being rolled inwardly to form a channel l9 having its edge opposed to the lining 8 and the lower edgeof the lining iscorrespondingly rolled to fit -in the channel m as shown at ll to interlcckthe'lower edges of the ends of the laminations of the end walls 1.

The inner lamination 3 at the upper edge of the end Wall E is inclined inwardly as shown at l2 to provide a chamber I -3 extending throughout the length of the upper edge of the end walls. A flat top edge it joins the upper edges of the inner and outer laminations of the end walls and the outer upper edge of the flat top is formed with recesses ll to receive lugs lla on the bottom of a superposed box to hold the boxes in stacked relation.

The outer lamination 9 of the end walls I in the region of the chamber [3 is formed with a horizontal finger gripping slot or opening IS, the chamber I3 receiving the fingers to provide an effective hand gripping area for the box.

The central portion of the outer lamination 9 of at least one of the end walls 1 is formed with an elongated opening llia to provide a recess in which an identification tag may be placed.

One end of each of the side walls 6 is formed at its vertical edge with an inwardly extending flange l8, the flanges of the opposed side walls being positioned at diagonally opposite corners of the box. The ends of the end walls I are connected to the ends of the side walls 6 by conventional hinge structures l9, preferably of a piano type hinge.

The lower edge of one of the side walls 6 is formed with an inwardly extending flange 20 and a bottom 2| is hingedly connected along one edge to the lower edge of the other of said side walls by a conventional piano type hinge 22.

The bottom 2| is composed of hingedly connected sections 23 connected to each other along a longitudinal medial line by a conventional piano type hinge 24.

The upper edges of the side walls 6 are folded downwardly and outwardly upon themselves to provide a reinforcing strip 25 at the upper edges of the side walls and reinforcing ribs 26 are pressed inwardly in the strips and adjacent portion of the side walls.

In the operation of the device when the side and end walls are raised into an open position, the free edge of the bottom 21 rests on the flange 20 of one of the side walls and the end edges of the bottom rest on the channels 10 of the end walls to support the bottom against downward collapsing movement.

When the box is not in use the same is collapsed by folding the bottom upwardly as shown in Figure 1 and the side and end walls may then be folded upon each other, as shown in Figure 3.

The modified form of the invention illustrated in Figure 6 shows the fiat top 21 provided with a knurled anti-slipping surface 28 to hold the boxes in stacked relation.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A metal box including a pair of foldable side walls, a pair of foldable end walls, and a foldable bottom, said side and said end walls being hingedly connected to each other for folding one side wall and one end wall upon the remaining walls, and said bottom being hingedly connected at one edge to the lower edge of one of the walls of one pair for folding upwardly against the latter, an inwardly projecting flange on the lower edge of the other of said one pair of walls adapted to support the free edge of the bottom when the latter is in its lowered position, said remaining pair of walls being constructed of laminated material, inwardly projecting interlocking flanges on the lower edge of the laminations of each of said last-named walls adapted to support the side edges of the bottom when the latter is in its lowered position, a chamber at the upper edge of each of said laminated walls and having a flattened top, said chambers having finger gripping openings in their outer surfaces and also having a recess in their flattened top surfaces, and a lug on the lower edge of said laminated walls adapted to enter the recess of an adjacent lower box when stacked one above the other to lock the stacked boxes with each other.

JOSEPH M. DAVENPORT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 101,113 Erpelding Mar. 22, 1870 582,229 Reynolds May 11, 1897 963,769 Johnson et a1. July 12, 1910 1,038,816 Arnold Sept. 17, 1912 1,112,943 Stone Oct. 6, 1914 1,890,983 Grifiith Dec. 13, 1932 1,947,055 Moorman Feb. 13, 1934 2,144,069 Lear Jan. 17, 1939 2,146,925 Ahrbecker et a1. Feb. 14, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 177,430 Canada June 5, 1917 

